The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Mention of SLA Industries has come up in more than a few discussions about highly-developed and intelligent settings that I have been involved in. I have only heard good things about the game, and it seemed to be one of those brilliant ideas that never seemed to make it big, like Kult or Blue Planet. So needless to say I was very pleased when I heard that Hogshead Publishing was re-releasing the game. I could finally get a chance to see this game for myself.

After reading it I can’t understand what the buzz was about. I found SLA Industries to be aggressively disappointing.

The basic concept of the game is that in the far future, amid a World of Progress, a megalithic company, SLA Industries in this case, has pretty much conquered a fair chunk of the universe. The game itself focuses on the world of Mort (to the exclusion of the rest of the universe) which happens to be the sprawl-covered capital planet of the company. It is here there Mr. Slayer, the 900+ year old owner/CEO of SLA Industries, rules his company with an iron fist, squatting atop a passive populace content to watch television with a near-religious fervor, easily influenced by the media departments of the all-pervasive SLA Industries. And it rains all the time too.

The basic point of the game is easy enough to pick out as the game’s condemnation of the media is almost palpable. The basic game concept is that the players take on the roles of SLA Industry operatives, killers for hire who are almost always followed by the media, hungry to film their next assault. Characters receive the orders, fulfill their jobs and hope for lucrative endorsement contracts so they can be adorned in corporate logos and swim in the money. The ubiquity of the media, the hardened and merciless public view of the violence around them, and the fight for various corporations to stamp their insignias on murderous superstars adds up to a clear attack on some of the worst elements popular American culture and entertainment. Unfortunately it’s single-minded and over-the-top focus also adds up to a flimsy caricature of it as well.

To actually have a serious and powerful commentary on something, you need to have a reasonably solid base and fleshed out backing. You need to be able to be taken seriously, unless you want to make a parody that reaches as much for humor as it does for a statement. Not that I have a problem with a humor game, mind you, I quite enjoy HOL and Toon. The problem with SLA Industries is that it seems to want to be taken seriously – but you just can’t do that with the setting.

In the World of Progress, there seem to only be three things:

Guns
Killing people
Killing people with Guns

And of course, all of these are televised and the public gobbles it up like mindless, violence-addicted cattle.

There aren’t really any normal industries like farming nor are there recognizable human emotions like love or compassion. This is a world driven only by greed and wrath, where the opportunity to film an entire school of children being eaten by some lab-produced monster is relished and expected to provide infinite fame and fortune. This is also a world ruled by a ruthless and immortal monster who artificially created a destructive soldier race that he used to conquer the cosmos – and he does this openly and with the adoration of the common man. The World of Progress is also a world where a company can remain completely static for 900 years without losing any ground, and technology proceeds as slower than a snails pace, failing to filter into any area of life other than military technology.

Can you begin understand why my ability to suspend my disbelief has been stretched beyond its limit? SLA Industries’s bears only the most passing resemblance to the real world and doesn’t even pretend to follow any logic (internal or not), and then it turns around and asks to be taken seriously as a horror game with a straight face.

The system is pretty straightforward, you just roll 2d10, add you skill and subtract the difficulty of the task. If that was above 10, you succeeded. The attributes and skills provided are the usual shopping list for similar middle-ground system, with the exception of the odd naming of one attribute as “Diagnose”, which is something of a mix between perception and intelligence. The “powers of the Ebb” were an interesting idea but ultimately turned out to be a variety of way to kill people and look good doing it. The best part, the requirement for cards with what amount to spell foci inscribed on them, are made unnecessary through the use of Deathsuits: Armor, magical battery, symbiot and stylish magical focus all in one package. There are also several player races available, but (again) they are all just different takes on the idea of “warrior” or “killer.” There are, of course, a variety of lovingly detailed guns and accessories with which to equip your operatives.

The book itself is nicely put together and the art ranges from passable to nice and entertaining. Some pieces I found quite inspiring and nice, but some others were incomprehensible or simply bizarre. The prose itself was either workhorse, purple or reveling gore. In fact, I found the game rather unpleasant to read, independent of the distasteful world it painted for me. The entirety of my rating for Style comes from the appearance of the book. It’s layout, design and artwork add up to create a wonderfully dark and moody game of rain, violence and product placement. Unfortunately that is all the game ended up being.

SLA Industries ends up being a torn game. It might be a dark comedy, some sort of twisted and bloody take on the classic Terry Gilliam movie Brazil. It might be a serious commentary on the state of violence and the media industry in our society today. The problem is it can’t seem to decide between the two and ends up being neither. About half way through the book, I realized that SLA Industries was, in many ways, Shadowrun leached of excitement, versatility and fun with a healthy does of Rifts-esque kewlness to fill in. And that is very much not the kind of game I would like to play. So SLA Industries gets put on the very short list of Games That I Want to Get Rid Of, only some of the art tempts me to keep it. Derek Guder

SLA Industries
Item type: RPG Product Name: SLA Industries Author: Dave Allsop, Jared Earle, Morton T. Smith, Anne Boylan and Tim Dedopulos Company/Publisher: Nightfall Games (released through Hogshead Publishing) Line: SLA Industries SKU: HP500 Cost: 29.95 Page count: 304 ISBN: 1-899749-23-3 Genres: Ratings: Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money) Review type: Capsule Review Genre tags:	Mention of *SLA Industries* has come up in more than a few discussions about highly-developed and intelligent settings that I have been involved in. I have only heard good things about the game, and it seemed to be one of those brilliant ideas that never seemed to make it big, like *Kult* or *Blue Planet. So needless to say I was very pleased when I heard that Hogshead Publishing was re-releasing the game. I could finally get a chance to see this game for myself. After reading it I can’t understand what the buzz was about. I found SLA Industries* to be aggressively disappointing. The basic concept of the game is that in the far future, amid a World of Progress, a megalithic company, SLA Industries in this case, has pretty much conquered a fair chunk of the universe. The game itself focuses on the world of Mort (to the exclusion of the rest of the universe) which happens to be the sprawl-covered capital planet of the company. It is here there Mr. Slayer, the 900+ year old owner/CEO of SLA Industries, rules his company with an iron fist, squatting atop a passive populace content to watch television with a near-religious fervor, easily influenced by the media departments of the all-pervasive SLA Industries. And it rains all the time too. The basic point of the game is easy enough to pick out as the game’s condemnation of the media is almost palpable. The basic game concept is that the players take on the roles of SLA Industry operatives, killers for hire who are almost always followed by the media, hungry to film their next assault. Characters receive the orders, fulfill their jobs and hope for lucrative endorsement contracts so they can be adorned in corporate logos and swim in the money. The ubiquity of the media, the hardened and merciless public view of the violence around them, and the fight for various corporations to stamp their insignias on murderous superstars adds up to a clear attack on some of the worst elements popular American culture and entertainment. Unfortunately it’s single-minded and over-the-top focus also adds up to a flimsy caricature of it as well. To actually have a serious and powerful commentary on something, you need to have a reasonably solid base and fleshed out backing. You need to be able to be taken seriously, unless you want to make a parody that reaches as much for humor as it does for a statement. Not that I have a problem with a humor game, mind you, I quite enjoy *HOL* and *Toon. The problem with SLA Industries* is that it seems to want to be taken seriously – but you just can’t do that with the setting. In the World of Progress, there seem to only be three things: Guns Killing people Killing people with Guns And of course, all of these are televised and the public gobbles it up like mindless, violence-addicted cattle. There aren’t really any normal industries like farming nor are there recognizable human emotions like love or compassion. This is a world driven only by greed and wrath, where the opportunity to film an entire school of children being eaten by some lab-produced monster is relished and expected to provide infinite fame and fortune. This is also a world ruled by a ruthless and immortal monster who artificially created a destructive soldier race that he used to conquer the cosmos – and he does this openly and with the adoration of the common man. The World of Progress is also a world where a company can remain completely static for 900 years without losing any ground, and technology proceeds as slower than a snails pace, failing to filter into any area of life other than military technology. Can you begin understand why my ability to suspend my disbelief has been stretched beyond its limit? *SLA Industries’s bears only the most passing resemblance to the real world and doesn’t even pretend to follow any logic (internal or not), and then it turns around and asks to be taken seriously as a horror game with a straight face. The system is pretty straightforward, you just roll 2d10, add you skill and subtract the difficulty of the task. If that was above 10, you succeeded. The attributes and skills provided are the usual shopping list for similar middle-ground system, with the exception of the odd naming of one attribute as “Diagnose”, which is something of a mix between perception and intelligence. The “powers of the Ebb” were an interesting idea but ultimately turned out to be a variety of way to kill people and look good doing it. The best part, the requirement for cards with what amount to spell foci inscribed on them, are made unnecessary through the use of Deathsuits: Armor, magical battery, symbiot and stylish magical focus all in one package. There are also several player races available, but (again) they are all just different takes on the idea of “warrior” or “killer.” There are, of course, a variety of lovingly detailed guns and accessories with which to equip your operatives. The book itself is nicely put together and the art ranges from passable to nice and entertaining. Some pieces I found quite inspiring and nice, but some others were incomprehensible or simply bizarre. The prose itself was either workhorse, purple or reveling gore. In fact, I found the game rather unpleasant to read, independent of the distasteful world it painted for me. The entirety of my rating for Style comes from the appearance* of the book. It’s layout, design and artwork add up to create a wonderfully dark and moody game of rain, violence and product placement. Unfortunately that is all the game ended up being. *SLA Industries* ends up being a torn game. It might be a dark comedy, some sort of twisted and bloody take on the classic Terry Gilliam movie *Brazil. It might be a serious commentary on the state of violence and the media industry in our society today. The problem is it can’t seem to decide between the two and ends up being neither. About half way through the book, I realized that SLA Industries* was, in many ways, *Shadowrun* leached of excitement, versatility and fun with a healthy does of *Rifts-esque kewlness to fill in. And that is very much not* the kind of game I would like to play. So *SLA Industries* gets put on the very short list of Games That I Want to Get Rid Of, only some of the art tempts me to keep it. Derek Guder